The present disclosure generally relates to the field of analytical sample processing and, in particular, to a system and method for locating sample vessels for analytic sample processing.
In automated clinical analyzers, liquid samples, such as bodily fluids, can be tested by various clinical-chemical and immunochemical methods. Modern analyzers typically can be loaded with many samples in a batch-wise manner requiring longer processing times of, for example, hours. In practical use, a situation may arise that a particular sample must be located after having been analyzed and while stored in a suitable, for example, cooled or refrigerated area, for example, for re-testing. When not stored in compartments for the automatic retrieval of samples, the time to access the desired sample can be unacceptably long since each sample vessel has to be checked for identification. On the other hand, fully automated storage solutions may be not suitable or not available in every customer environment.
Therefore, there is a need to locate individual sample vessels quickly with easy access to the samples.